Earlier than the Padres’ season got here to an finish with tonight’s shutout loss in Los Angeles, San Diego offered a pair of harm updates. Ha-Seong Kim and Joe Musgrove each underwent their beforehand introduced surgical procedures this week. Dennis Lin of the Athletic tweets that Kim had a labrum restore on his proper shoulder yesterday, whereas Musgrove’s Tommy John surgical procedure was carried out on Friday.
Kim’s standing will likely be one of many larger tales of the offseason. The Padres haven’t offered a timetable for the infielder’s return. It’s not clear how a lot of subsequent season, if any, he’ll be sidelined. The surgical procedure comes at a brutal time for Kim, who is about to say no his finish of an $8MM mutual possibility and attain free company this winter. The defensive stalwart had an argument for a deal of 4 or 5 years at $15MM+ yearly if he have been wholesome.
His market worth is rather more tough to pin down now. Kim appeared like a lock to obtain and decline a qualifying provide halfway via the summer season. Until the Padres anticipate him to be totally recovered early within the 2025 season, they in all probability gained’t make the QO. The surgical procedure raises the potential of Kim taking a shorter-term contract. That might be a straight one-year deal or, extra probably, a two-year pact that permits him to decide out after the primary season.
San Diego might want to weigh a qualifying provide choice on each Kim and Jurickson Profar. In the event that they let Kim stroll, they’ll determine whether or not to go exterior the group for a shortstop or transfer one in every of their present gamers again to the place. The Padres used Xander Bogaerts at shortstop down the stretch. They might preserve Bogaerts there with Jake Cronenworth and Luis Arraez on the correct aspect of the infield. San Diego additionally has the choice of giving Jackson Merrill a have a look at shortstop, however the 21-year-old had such a incredible season in middle subject that the Padres might not need to change his function once more. Bringing Merrill again into the infield would open a second hole to plug within the outfield alongside Profar’s potential departure.
Musgrove is underneath contract for $20MM within the third season of his five-year extension. The timing of the surgical procedure means he’s very more likely to miss the whole 2025 season. Musgrove isn’t keen to already shut the guide on the 12 months, nonetheless. The righty informed reporters he’s sustaining some hope that he might contribute if the Friars make a playoff push. “Some guys regenerate tissues sooner than others,” he mentioned earlier this week (by way of Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “I’m at all times going to go away room for the miracle of coming again in a loopy period of time. However listening to the tales and studying up and doing my homework and speaking with our trainers who’ve rehabbed tons of those, there’s a whole lot of significance in giving it the time on the entrance finish that it wants.”
The 31-year-old (32 in December) would wish an atypically fast restoration to pitch subsequent season. The usual Tommy John rehab takes round 14-16 months. If Musgrove have been to make a shocking return, it’d in all probability in brief reduction. The Padres will go into subsequent season with Michael King, Dylan Stop and Yu Darvish as wholesome starters. Martín Pérez will likely be a free agent, whereas Matt Waldron and Randy Vásquez profile higher in depth roles. Musgrove’s harm may lead the Padres to amass a number of beginning pitchers this winter.